Tag Archives: red onion

This classic recipe is going to be my new go-to chili. It was easy to prepare, a little bit lighter, using ground turkey and omitting cheese, and is only mildly spicy- a crowd-pleaser. The heat can easily be increased by adjusting the amount of chili powder to taste. It had a wonderful combination of seasonings including cinnamon and cocoa powder.

I used all white beans but this dish would be delicious with any type of beans or an interesting combination. 🙂 We ate it over brown rice with cornbread and green salad on the side. It would be perfect to serve at a Super Bowl feast!

This recipe was adapted from Bon Appétit. It was part of a “sleeper hit recipe” collection from the magazines’ archives. The collection contains tried and true favorite recipes from back in the day that may be passed over due to blurry, low-resolution (aka unappealing!) photos. I’m happy that they brought them to my attention. I’ll have to try others. 🙂

Yield: Serves 8

2 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil

2 medium yellow onions, chopped

1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 1/4 pounds lean ground turkey

4 T chili powder

2 bay leaves

1 T unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp coarse salt, plus more to taste

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes

3 cups chicken stock or beef stock

1 cup (8 oz) tomato sauce

3 15-ounce cans small white beans, such as Cannellini, rinsed, drained (or any combination of beans such as kidney and/or black beans)

thinly sliced red onion, for garnish

chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish

plain low-fat yogurt or light sour cream, for garnish

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add onions; sauté until light brown and tender, about 10 minutes.

Add oregano and cumin; stir 1 minute. Increase heat to medium-high.

Add turkey; stir until no longer pink, breaking up with back of spoon.

My kids are back in school! I can get back to sharing dishes that we enjoyed this summer (and probably last spring as well). I have quite a few to share. 🙂

This is a fabulous, restaurant-indulgent, late summer pasta dish. The real beauty of it is that it could be made in any season to bring back the taste of summer. It was also quick and easy to prepare- the best combination. The cheese adds creaminess to the finished dish but can easily be omitted for a vegan version.

This recipe was adapted from Bringing it Home: Favorite Recipes from a Life of Adventurous Eating by Gail Simmons with Mindy Fox. I used grape instead of cherry tomatoes, bucatini instead of spaghettini, and modified the proportions. I am definitely going to make this dish year round. Great.

Yield: Serves 4 to 6

1 pound bucatini, spaghettini, spaghetti, or angel hair pasta

Kosher salt

1/2 cup olive oil, plus more for serving

1 small red onion or 1/2 large red onion, thinly sliced, about 1 cup

4 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

2 pounds (about 3 pints) grape or cherry tomatoes

1 1/2 cups loosely packed torn basil leaves, plus more for garnish

2-4 T finely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

3/4 cup (6 oz) fresh whole-milk ricotta cheese

freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, for serving

coarsely ground black pepper

Cook the pasta in a large pot of well-salted boiling water until al dente. (Simmons recommends 2 T of kosher or fine sea salt in 4 quarts of water.)

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a 12- or 14-inch skillet or wide, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat.

Add the onion, garlic, and 1 teaspoon of salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onion begins to soften, about 5 minutes.

Add the red pepper flakes, then stir in the tomatoes and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until most of the tomatoes have burst, 6 to 8 minutes.

Reserving 1 cup of the pasta cooking liquid, drain the pasta.

Add the pasta, along with the reserved pasta cooking water, to the pan with the sauce. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until the pasta is coated, about 30 seconds, then stir in the basil and parsley.

Divide the pasta among serving plates. Dollop with the ricotta and sprinkle with Parmesan and black pepper to taste. Drizzle with olive oil, if desired, and serve immediately.

This sheet pan meal was a healthy and delicious weeknight dish. I especially loved that the kale was even wilted under a broiler on a sheet pan. The entire dish is made in one oven on two sheet pans- great.

This recipe was adapted from Martha Stewart Living. I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead of bone-in and adapted the cooking method.

Move baking sheet to upper third of oven; broil until chicken is browned, 2 to 3 minutes.

Drizzle kale lightly with oil; season with salt and pepper. Scatter kale over chicken and broil until just wilted and thermometer inserted into thickest parts of chicken registers 165 degrees, 1 to 2 minutes more.

Let cool slightly, then squeeze lemon halves over chicken.

Remove kale to a platter, place chicken on top; toss remaining vegetables together and serve alongside.

I made this galette for myself. I really did- which rarely (read: never) happens. As soon as I saw the recipe I had to make it. Such a seasonal and pretty vegetarian meal. The perfect use for my CSA butternut squash and red onions too. It took me a week to enjoy it and was worth every flavorful bite.

The crust was super flaky and fabulous thanks to grating frozen butter into the dry ingredients. Genius. I made the crust days in advance and kept it well wrapped in the refrigerator without any issues as well.

This recipe was adapted from Food and Wine, contributed by Justin Chapple. I used all butternut squash instead of a combination of varieties. I also adapted the crust preparation as well as the baking times for a convection oven. Lovely!

In a large bowl, whisk the flour with 3/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper.

Working over the bowl, grate the frozen butter on the large holes of a box grater. Gently toss the grated butter in the flour.

Stir in 1/3 cup of ice water until the dough is evenly moistened.

Scrape out onto a sheet of plastic wrap. Gather up any crumbs and knead gently just until the dough comes together.

Pat into a disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour, or up to several days in advance.

To Make the Filling:

Preheat the oven to 425°, preferably on convection.

On a large rimmed baking sheet, toss the squash and the onion with the olive oil and curry powder. Season generously with salt and pepper. Roast for 15 to 20 minutes, until the squash is tender but not falling apart. Let cool.

Increase the oven temperature to 450°.

Lightly flour the dough and place between sheets of plastic wrap. Roll out the dough to a 14-inch round.

Remove the top layer of plastic wrap and replace with a piece of parchment paper large enough to line a rimmed baking sheet. Invert and carefully transfer to a baking sheet.

Spread the sour cream over the dough, leaving a 1 1/2-inch border.

Sprinkle 1/4 cup of the cheese on top.

Arrange the squash and onion over the sour cream and sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup of cheese on top.

Fold the pastry edge up and over the vegetables to create a 1 1/2-inch border.

Bake the squash galette for 25 to 35 minutes, until the crust is browned; let cool slightly.

Sprinkle with shredded cheese, cut into wedges and serve warm.

Make Ahead: The galette can be made a few hours early and rewarmed before serving.

Similar to my summer vegetable gratin post, this dish also incorporates a complete “CSA box” – plus salmon. It was a light and fresh meal. The salsa was absolutely delicious. I was inspired to make it when I received all of these beautiful tomatoes in my box.

We ate it with roasted beets and red potatoes, also from my CSA box, of course. 🙂

This dish was adapted from the New York Times, contributed by Mark Bittman. I used on half of a small red onion instead of a white onion, my mixed tomatoes from my CSA share, a home-grown jalapeño, and the juice of 1 lime in the salsa. Bittman notes that grilled, broiled, roasted, or even steamed salmon (or other types of fish such as halibut or swordfish) would work equally well.

This dish is so colorful it might just be dinner party worthy too. Ready in 30 minutes makes it extra-fabulous.

Start a charcoal or gas grill; fire should be moderately hot and grill rack about 4 inches from heat source. Or, heat oven to 500 degrees.

Chop tomatoes and combine them in a bowl with onion, chili, cilantro, lime juice and some salt. Set aside. (Salsa can be made up to one hour ahead of time.)

Sprinkle fish with salt and pepper. If grilling, rub fish with a little oil as well; put it on grill, skin side down, and let it sit for 4 to 5 minutes, then turn once (don’t worry if part of skin sticks to grill). Cook for about 3 minutes more, until medium-rare.
If roasting, heat a large nonstick skillet over high heat for a minute. Add oil and, a few seconds later, salmon, skin side up. Sear for a minute, then transfer to oven and roast until medium-rare, about 10 minutes.

Allow to rest for a minute or so, then remove skin, if desired. Turn over and serve, topped with salsa or passing salsa at the table.

My kids and I love summer watermelon. We usually just chomp on slices of it at the beach, but I recently incorporated it into two refreshing summer side salads.

The first was an adaptation of the classic Middle Eastern Tabouli Salad substituting watermelon for tomatoes. What a great idea! 🙂 The second was another classic Middle Eastern way of serving watermelon- with feta and basil. I made it for a party and was unable to capture it in a photo. You can (will have to!) imagine how pretty it looked. I had been unaware of how wonderful watermelon pairs with feta cheese- so simple and tasty.

The tabbouleh recipe was adapted from Martha Stewart Living and the watermelon-feta salad recipe was adapted from Plenty: Vibrant Vegetable Recipes from London’s Ottolenghi by Yotam Ottolenghi. Fresh, seasonal and delicious.

Bring water and 1/4 teaspoon salt to a boil in a medium saucepan. Stir in bulgur, and remove from heat. Let stand, covered, for 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork, and let stand, uncovered, until cooled, 15 to 30 minutes. (I spread the cooked bulgur out on a rimmed baking sheet to speed the cooling process.)

Transfer bulgur to a bowl, and toss with watermelon, parsley, scallions, oil, lemon zest and juice, and 1/4 teaspoon salt.

Gently fold in cheese. Serve.

Watermelon, Basil & Feta Salad

Yield: Serves 4

10 oz block feta (preferable sheep’s milk)

4 to 5 cups of large-dice watermelon cubes

3/4 cups basil leaves, chiffonade

1/2 small red onion, very thinly sliced

olive oil, for drizzling

Slice the feta into large but thin pieces, or just break it by hand into rough chunks.

Arrange all of the ingredients, except for the olive oil, on a platter or bowl, mixing them up a little.

I love the “RSVP” column in Bon Appetit. Readers write in to request recipes for their favorite restaurant dishes; I feel like the recipes are really “tried and true.” This recipe was adapted from CBD Provisions in Dallas, Texas, via Bon Appetit.

The dish features an ultra-flavorful soffritto base which, along with mixed mushrooms and cheese, results in a rich and hearty vegetarian main dish. We enjoyed it Easter weekend, but it would really be nice any time of the year. This is the second vegetarian pasta I’m bringing to Angie’s Fiesta Friday #63 this week. Enjoy!

Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrot, and celery and cook, stirring often, until lightly golden, 5–8 minutes; season with salt and pepper.

Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring often, until vegetables have reduced in volume by two-thirds, 15–20 minutes.

Add paprika and cook, stirring often, 5 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl.

Do Ahead: Soffritto can be made 2 days ahead. Let cool; cover and chill.

To Finish the Dish:

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add half of mushrooms; season with salt and pepper. Cook, tossing, until browned and softened, 8–10 minutes; transfer to a bowl. Repeat with 2 tablespoons of oil and remaining mushrooms; reserve skillet.